COVID-19
2020

COVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2, infected the world's population in early 2020. Over 2,000,000 reported infections and over 140,000 deaths were recorded by mid April 2020. These numbers were expected to rise in the coming months. According to the World Health Organization, the virus had its beginnings in Wuhan, China on 12/31/19 when a cluster of pneumonia cases were reported. It was at that time a new coronavirus was identified. Once it became obvious that no country had a true handle on this new pandemic, nations began shutting their borders, orders to shelter-in-place were put into effect, and non-essential businesses were ordered closed. The global economy plummeted upon news of a business shutdown. Between February 12, 2020 to March 11, 2020 the U.S. Stock Market dropped 19.3%. Countries with the highest number of COVID-19 cases were China, Italy, the U.S., and Spain.

In the U.S., states mandated sheltering-in-place, and non-essential businesses were ordered closed. To make matters worse, there was a shortage of N95 masks, latex gloves, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes. Hospitals found themselves scrambling for these much needed supplies. Hoarding of certain products became commonplace for the first few months. Oftentimes, stores were completely out of stock on toilet paper, paper towels, and facial wipes. Canned goods were sometimes sold out, as well as flour, sugar, and yeast (people began making bread at home). Initially, the states hardest hit by the virus were New York, California, and Washington. By mid April; New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Louisiana were states where mortality rates were the highest.

Locally, schools were all closed to help prevent the spread of the virus. "Distance Learning" became the new norm as students across the state took online classes to continue their studies. Zoom, a video conferencing software, became the go-to application to maintain lines of communication between teachers and students. Prior to the pandemic, the software was most popular with companies to facilitate virtual meetings. Certain businesses were deemed essential services; so grocery stores, laundromats, car repair, gas stations, banks, and pharmacies remained open.

This particular virus was wide spread in the U.S. due in part to the dissolution of the Pandemic Response Team and also in part to a delayed response by the White House. In May of 2018 the Trump administration saw fit to disband the Global Health Security and Biodefense unit, and its head Timothy Ziemer, top White House official in the National Security Council, resigned from his post and was never replaced. All told, the White House wanted to streamline arms control and non proliferation; weapons of mass destruction and terrorism; and global health and biodefense all under one directorate. While some members of the old global health and security team were reassigned, the structure and institutional knowledge was lost. Another key loss was the dismissal of Dr. Linda Quick in July of 2019 who was an Epidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She was embedded in China and would have been in a position to provide vital information on the virus weeks earlier than was originally reported. Perhaps, even more troubling, efforts by Trump to minimize the impact of this global pandemic also led to weeks of lost preparation. Instead of creating test kits to get a more accurate count of those infected, Trump wasted precious time by telling the public that COVID-19 was overblown and under control (January 30, 2020). Finally, nearly 8 weeks after the first case was reported in the United States (January 20, 2020), Trump acknowledged he recognized the magnitude of the crisis (March 16, 2020).

Update: 11/18/2020
On September 10, 2020 Bob Woodward was promoting his book, Rage, that included interviews with Donald Trump from December 2019 through July 2020. In one of the more revealing interviews Trump admitted he knew the Coronavirus was "deadly stuff" back in February 2020 but didn't tell the public for fear of causing a panic. Later, on October 2, 2020 Donald Trump, his wife Melania, and more than a dozen White House staff and aides tested positive for COVID-19. Trump was flown to Walter Reed National Medical Center where he received a cocktail of experimental drugs to combat the virus. On October 5th, the U.S. death toll surpassed 210,000. Trump returned to the White House (October 6, 2020) when the medical staff deemed him well enough to return, but only after he put his Secret Service detail in harm's way when he decided to take a drive around the hospital to wave to his supporters the day before. Despite falling ill Trump continued to maintain that the virus was disappearing and that it was China's fault that the mortality rate in the U.S. was so high. On October 14, 2020 Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron, tested positive for COVID-19.

As November 3, 2020 (Election Day) neared, Trump continued to downplay the severity of COVID-19. He blamed the media for always leading with COVID-19 news and trying to frighten the public. He believed once Election Day rolled around that the virus would no longer be in the headlines. On October 30, 2020; 9,000,000 Americans had been infected with the Coronavirus.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020, during the third COVID-19 spike, over 153,000,000 voters hand delivered, mailed, or voted in person in the 2020 Presidential Election. It was the largest voter turn out in the history of U.S. Presidential Elections. Due to the pandemic voters were somewhat wary of voting in person, so all states allowed mail in ballots which created difficulties when counting began after polls closed. That evening the White House held an election night party where hundreds of people mingled for hours where many were not wearing masks. At least 14 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 after that super spreader event including Trump's Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows and Secretary of Housing and Development, Ben Carson. Finally, on Saturday, November 7, 2020 former Vice President Joe Biden was declared the winner and would be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021.

On Wednesday, November 18, 2020 the U.S. surpassed 250,000 COVID-19 related deaths. Many California Counties went from the moderate to widespread tier (bypassing the substantial tier) where non-essential businesses could no longer remain open. Toilet paper has begun flying off the shelves again in many stores.

Update: 1/20/2022
At the beginning of 2021, news of vaccines in the pipeline gave people hope for the new year. The first COVID vaccine by Pfizer received an Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA on December 11, 2020. Three days later the U.S. death toll due to COVID surpassed 300,000. One week after Pfizer, Moderna received its EUA on Dec. 18th. By Christmas Eve it was estimated more than 1 million people received their first dose of COVID vaccine, however a shortage of vaccines due to production issues and bad weather became an issue.

On January 18, 2021 the U.S. COVID-19 death toll hit 400,000 and by February 21st that number increased beyond 500,000. By February 27, 2021 Johnson and Johnson received Emergency Use Authorization for its one-shot vaccine. Vaccination sites became the norm all over the United States such that by March 13th over 100 million vaccinations had been administered. Five weeks later (April 21, 2021) that number doubled to 200 million.

June 1, 2021 the dominant COVID variant in the United States was the Delta variant and kicked off a third wave of infections. As a result, a previous announcement by the CDC back in March indicating it was OK to gather indoors without masks if people were vaccinated was revoked (July 27, 2021). By November 2, 2021 the CDC finally recommended children aged 5-11 should get the pediatric dose of Pfizer.

Not long after that another variant, Omicron, became the dominant variant. While, seemingly, not as virulent, it was considerably more contagious and still dangerous to those with health issues. On November 29, 2021 the CDC recommended everyone should receive a booster (3rd shot) 6 months after receiving their second dose. During the holidays at the end of 2021 airlines had to cancel flights due to a shortage of workers.

By the third week of January 2022, the COVID-19 death toll in the United States was well over 850,000. Staffing issues for businesses worldwide created slow downs in services and distribution. A global computer chip shortage due to COVID was created when people forced to work remotely bought new laptops and companies bought new servers. The shortage took a toll on everything that relies on chips to function. The introduction of new game consoles and new TV's was delayed. Components to build cars were in short supply so some major car manufacturers shut down production. The loss of revenue to the automobile industry due to the global chip shortage was calculated at $47 billion and would continue to rise.

When the pandemic became a stark reality for everyone, people began hoarding supplies in the event of shortages. In the early stages, store shelves were left barren by people buying toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, canned goods, and over the counter medicines.

On Monday, March 16, 2020 six Bay Area counties (San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa, and Alameda) announced "shelter in place" to take effect at 12:01am, Tuesday, March 17, 2020. In order to prepare for this unprecedented event, people stocked up on items they thought they might need for the long haul. As a result, many stores were sold out of toilet paper, paper towels, and hand sanitizer.

On Friday, March 13, 2020 an announcement was made that all schools in Santa Clara County were to close for 3 weeks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. On Wednesday, March 25 2020 the decision was made to extend closures until May 1, 2020, and then on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 Governor Newsom along with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, announced closures would remain in effect for the entire school year. While the schools wouldn't be open for students to attend in person, online instruction would continue.

Throughout the month of March, grocery shopping was something that had to be planned well in advance. Comprehensive shopping lists were made to make sure no trip to the store was wasted. In a strange way, it reminds me of the gas shortage in the 1970's. I remember my father waking up in the wee hours of the morning, well before the sun came up, to drive the car to the gas station to wait in line for gas. My mother would wake up with him to make him a thermos of coffee so he would stay warm (and awake). While not nearly as arduous, grocery shopping requires more patience and planning than ever. For instance, Costco, in order to maintain a 6' physical distance between customers, limited the number of patrons in the warehouse at any given time. This meant lines to enter the warehouse. Later, further safety protocols like disinfecting shopping carts before entering and placards on the floor indicating 6' of distance were implemented to ensure customer and employee safety.

Once the Governor shut down schools through the end of the school year, distance learning became the norm for all California students. Teachers struggled with having to somehow teach students without being able to see them in person and also caring for their own families at the same time. Since there was no way of knowing how long this shelter in place would last, school districts and administrators continued to plan for continued distance learning into the next school year.

Heading into April some grocery items were still difficult to find. While at Target to pick up a prescription, we tried looking for some things that we just couldn't ever find at our normal grocery store. However, just like Safeway, Target didn't have any muffin mix or microwave popcorn either.

Maintaining 6' of physical distance wasn't enough after about a month. Stores started limiting the number of customers who could go inside, plus, in some cases, aisles were designated one way to prevent congestion and physical proximity to one another.

Unlike Safeway where there are multiple lines to check out (many times blocking the aisles), Smart and Final has only one line to check out. When you finally get to the front of the line you get called to one of the open registers.

After nearly 2 months, stores were finally able to restock toilet paper again.

Sunday service at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple could not continue during Shelter In Place, so Mukojima Sensei and Minister's Assistant, John Arima, devised a way to deliver service virtually. On, Sunday, June 14th a watch party was organized so everyone could view service followed by a Town Hall meeting to talk about the upcoming OBONatHOME, MVBT's virtual 2020 Obon.

Father's Day fell in the middle of shelter in place, so heading out to Hukilau (as we usually do on Father's Day) wasn't an option. Instead, Deb put together a menu that was really awesome. Dad had been on a ribs kick in recent months, and found he really enjoyed good ribs. Mom knew of a great bbq sauce available in Santa Clara located near her office. The menu included cobb salad, pork ribs, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes (only for Dad), and twice baked potatoes (for everyone else). During this pandemic, Deb created some amazing meals, but this was probably the best so far.

Lines at Marukai continue to be long despite the shelves being less than full.

Grandpa wanted to paint the garage doors for a while now, but he never got around to it. However, now that he and Grandma were in San Francisco because of COVID-19 he thought he would get to it when the mood struck him. The mood never struck him. Dad thought since the boys weren't doing anything during their summer break he would drive them up and have them paint the doors. So finally, on a Friday morning the boys got paint brushes and painted both garage doors and the door to the second stairwell. As payment for their efforts Grandma rewarded them with her famous udon for lunch. In the end, the doors looked pretty good.

We hadn't been to Dim Sum King in quite some time. When we did try to go once before on a Sunday we found out they changed their hours due to the pandemic and were only open on the weekdays. This time we made sure they were open before we went down, but like everywhere else there was a line to get in.

Back at Marukai again and "surprise" there are lines both inside and out.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful and worrisome. Everyone here has been adhering to the shelter-in-place mandate and extra cautious when going outside. Both Homestead High School and Cal Poly Pomona have instituted remote learning for this semester, so the kids have been staying at home. When Deb's birthday rolled around, it was the first time in a few years when we could all celebrate at home together.

During the pandemic we have found going grocery shopping early tends to be the best time to go as check out lines tend to be shorter. However, one of the downsides of going early is when restocking hasn't been completed. This time Dad went to Smart and Final in the afternoon, and while he found what he was looking for he had to stand in a long line to pay.

Every 6 months Sunnyvale has Extra Dump Days. With everyone home due to COVID-19, Dad was able to drive up to Grandpa's and Grandma's and haul away lots of stuff they no longer needed. After three loads over two weekends their garage looks much better.

Halloween was very different this year. We didn't want to encourage a situation where we had to interact with anyone, so we turned off all the lights and discouraged any would be trick-or-treaters from ringing our doorbell. Instead, we had an Italian themed potluck with 3 other families where everyone contributed a dish. Deb worked tirelessly making spaghetti sauce and prepping garlic bread. The Hamasaki's (Betty) made minestrone soup, vegetables, and a dessert. Aunty Pauline (Shinkawa's) got everyone a pizza and ingredients for salad. The Tsukahara's (Sharon) went totally overboard with massive appetizer and dessert trays. The food was so good we were full through the next day.

To make Halloween even more festive, Chloe came over with a fun idea of dressing up as characters from the online game, Among Us. She, Tyler, and Connor dressed up and took some pictures to prove they celebrated Halloween despite the pandemic.

Grandpa and Grandma have been stuck in San Francisco since February. Recently, Hawaii eased travel restrictions to visit the islands. Visitors have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test administered no more than 3 days prior to departure to bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine. They scheduled a test (with test results in 36 hours) to be taken prior to their flight on Monday. Once in Hawaii, they hope to look in on Great Grandma in Hilo and take care of any miscellaneous issues she might have. Grandpa is also hoping to resume his regular walking regimen that's been problematic while in San Francisco due to the hilly terrain. Since they plan on being in Hawaii until early March, they drove down to Sunnyvale with fried chicken, dim sum, and salad to have lunch with us before they leave. It was a really nice visit.

Flu cases always spike this time of year but coupled with COVID-19 the results can be much more serious. After making solid progress in mitigating COVID-19 the past few months, many counties in the state of California that were either in the "Orange" (moderate) or "Red" (substantial) tiers reverted back to the "Purple" (widespread) tier. This means many businesses that reopened after the first shelter-in-place had to close again to help bring the number of cases down. Californians began to hoard cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, groceries, and toilet paper again.

Due to the tremendous increase in COVID-19 cases within the last few weeks, Santa Clara County reverted from the "Orange" (moderate) tier back to the "Purple" (widespread) tier. Businesses that were allowing patrons to enter without having to stand in line were now forced to adhere to "Purple" tier guidlines and restrict the number of customers in the building. In the case of Nijiya only 35 people could be in the store at any one time.

After about 2 weeks of not having any toilet paper Costco finally restocked, but it was going fast. Just about everyone in the warehouse had toilet paper in their shopping carts. Paper towels are also in short supply and there was some to be had this morning but it was gone by 10:15am (Costco opens to the general public at 10:00am). Fortunately, facial tissue (Kleenex) was back in stock too.

Thanksgiving was very different this year. Usually, we head down to L.A. and spend the holiday with Deb's side of the family. On Wednesday, Deb, with sister in law Lara and cousin Kathy, would spend the entire day hitting one outlet mall after another looking for deals. Then, on Thanksgiving, Grandpa would wake up early in the morning to pre-heat his kamodo to cook the turkey. For lunch we would always hit the local Tommy's burgers for chili cheeseburgers and fries. After lunch Grandma would call Sam Woo's for chow fun and chow mein, and Grandpa would take the turkey out of the smoker. By mid afternoon guests would arrive with assorted appetizers, side dishes, and desserts. From that point on it would be eating, watching football, and "talking story".

This year we made the tough decision to stay home and have our first (and hopefully only) shelter-in-place Thanksgiving (this was Deb's first Thanksgiving away from home). We weren't totally alone though. We had a few friends who were in the same situation and couldn't be with their extended families either. So, similar to our Halloween potluck, we had a Thanksgiving potluck! Everyone chipped in with some kind of side dish or dessert (turkey was up to each individual family). Deb made a pumpkin delite dessert and brocolli salad. Jordyn made a pumpkin pie cheese cake, and Dad made clam dip. Aunty Pauline made fried won ton, another pumpkin dessert dish, and provided an assortment of "adult beverages". Aunty Betty made edamame, string beans, potatoes, and also threw in apple pie and chocolate chip cookies. Aunty Sharon made cranberry blitzes, yams, stuffing, and home-made cranberry sauce. Around 4:30pm everyone drove to our house to exchange food. That in itself was a major production as there were many bags of food changing hands. To round out the evening, Aunty Pauline coordinated a Zoom meeting at 7:30pm for all four families to actually see each other and to say, "HI!".

This year, Christmas is going to be very different from any Christmas we've experienced in the past. Normally, we spend Christmas Eve with Auntie Deanna and her family for dinner. Then, on Christmas Day we meet up with the rest of our extended family on Grandma Sato's side. This year we will be spending Christmas at home by ourselves adhering to the recent stay-at-home order going into effect on Sunday, Dec. 6th. Despite the social distancing from everyone this holiday season, we still did the traditional tree buying and lighting. Mom directed the boys on where she wanted lights inside the house. We also put up lights on the front of the house that we haven't done in a couple of years. Hopefully, this will be the one and only time we spend Christmas away from all of our grandparents, aunties, uncles, and cousins.

Since we were going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home by ourselves, Deb spent weeks trying to figure out what to make for dinner on those two nights. She decided on prime rib for Christmas, but what was she going to do for Christmas Eve? Looking at the grocery store ads leading up to the holiday, she found ham on sale at Safeway. She said that sounded like a good idea to go along with twice-baked potatoes and broccoli. Christmas Day was also when we were going to do a potluck food exchange with the Hamasaki's, Shinkawa's, and Tsukahara's. Man, when we traded dishes in the afternoon it became obvious there was way too much food to eat in one sitting.

Besides the prime rib, mashed potatoes, and cream corn we had for ourselves, there was Shrimp Scampi, Spinach Dip, Garlic Cheese Bread, Somen Salad, Shrimp Etouffee, Chili, Rice Pilaf, Chi Chi Dango Mochi, Cranberry Jello, Lemon Bundt Cake, and Creme Brulee. We have enough food to last at least another 3 days after Christmas.

Usually, at the end of the year, the MVBT Dharma School hosts a dinner in appreciation of all the Dharma School Teachers and Cabinet Members. We're always able to find a great restaurant where everyone can get together and relax. The food is always delicious and everyone is so happy to be there. This year, due to COVID-19, we couldn't get together as we would have liked. That didn't stop Debby Inenaga from finding a way to schedule an activity for us all to enjoy though. She hosted a Brigadeiro event where everyone received a kit to make tiny chocolate balls that we covered in peppermint, mixed sprinkles, almonds, or dark chocolate. Using Zoom we all logged in at the same time and created our chocolate treats together enjoying each others company. Maybe it wasn't like it was in past events, but the outcome was the same - everyone together and having a good time.

Over the last two weeks Deb's been trying to find this, "Step Up to the Snack Bar Mix" from Trader Joe's (actually, she's been sending Dad out to find it). Anyway, Dad's been hitting up the Sunnyvale Trader Joe's, and every week he's had no luck. Finally, Mom called the TJ's in Los Altos and they said they had them in stock. So, after deciding not to stop at Marukai (line too long), Dad went to Trader Joe's to see if he could get this hard-to-find snack mix. Parking was a breeze. The front of the store looked peaceful. However, after getting out of the car Dad realized there was a line to go in. The line ended up going down the side of the building and wrapped around the back. It was easily twice as long as at Marukai, but it seemed to move at a pretty good pace. After about only 5 - 10 minutes Dad was inside. Just as he entered the store, Mom texted him and said to get 8 cans. As luck would have it, the snack mix was displayed just as he got through the door. He put 8 cans in his shopping cart and just as he was headed to the register, a Trader Joe's worker who was standing behind the display asked Dad, "Don't you want to get 2 more?". Dad responded, "This is all I was told to pick up".

Just a day before, Dad went to Marukai in the afternoon to see if he could pick up some stuff for New Year's. As he drove in the parking lot to find a space he noticed the line was down the front of the store. He decided he would return the next day at opening to see if he could avoid the crowd. So, on Tuesday, he got to Marukai just after 9am. He was shocked to find the line was longer than it was the day before. Despite the line he was determined to get what we needed. Once inside it was pretty evident that supplies were running low. He wasn't able to get the Nappa (cabbage) like he normally does (only had cut - no whole) and the only Mizuna was organic (that didn't look particularly fresh). The meat department was equally barren due to either no supply or shortage of workers because of the pandemic. He wasn't able to get Oden, Kamaboko (pink kind), or any kind of Shabu-Shabu meat. Oh, and the Furikake the kids like in their rice was out of stock as well. In the end, he found Sapporo Ichiban, Aloha Saimin, Udon, and powdered Hawaiian Sun juice mix. It wasn't even half of what he was looking for, but he got what he could.

A day before New Years Eve we found ourselves having to stop at Nijiya for some things. We knew the line would be long, but fortunately it moved at a decent pace. However, we weren't prepared for the way everyone had to queue up to enter the store. There were two lines. The first line was to the left of the door and was quite long. As we finally made it to the front of the line right outside the front door, a Nijiya line monitor directed us to the end of another line on the right side of the door. So, maybe after about 20 minutes we were finally inside. This is what happens when we leave things to the last minute just before New Year's.

Every New Year's Day Deb gets up early to prepare our New Year's meal. This time she solicited a little help from the kids. Connor woke up to make scrambled eggs for the fried saimin. Tyler is a whiz at frying spam for spam musubi so he got up before noon to help too. Jordyn lends a hand wherever else Deb needs help. As is the case every January 1st, the meal was extraordinary. Garlic Miso chicken, fried saimin, ozoni, spam musubi, and a ton of sushi we bought from Nijiya in the morning were all on the menu. So ono.

Since November of 2020 Marukai has had difficulty maintaining staff due to the pandemic. For months now their meat selection has been very sparse with very little to choose from. Whole cuts of meat are many times out of stock. Hopefully, now that the stay-at-home order has been lifted, Marukai will be able to resupply their meat selection.

Every Super Bowl we normally get together with friends to watch the game and eat a ton of food. Unfortunately, while things have begun to get better, we are still not out of the woods yet, and gathering with people is still not a good idea until everyone has been vaccinated and herd immunity kicks in. Despite not being able to watch the game with one another we still found a way to share food. Deb and the kids made garlic miso chicken, spam musubi, and brownies. The Hamasaki clan put together air fried chicken, stuffed croissants, and pigs in a blanket. The Shinkawa ohana provided a vegetable platter and fried won ton. Finally, the Tsukaharas (well, Sharon) made lettuce wraps, lemon squares, and an amazing 7 layer dip (6 for us because Deb didn't want onions). Frankly, we weren't very interested in the game due to the fact that the Chiefs beat the Niners in last year's Super Bowl, and nobody seems to like Tom Brady of the Buccaneers. Still, we turned the game on to watch the latest and greatest commercials and also to watch The Weeknd in his halftime show. The real truth is all we wanted was to plan and talk with friends and then share some amazing grinds with each other!

We were just about the first in line on the first day COVID vaccinations were available for anyone 50 and older. We lucked out and got Levi's Stadium as our vaccination site as it's very close to home.

We hadn't had a potluck in a while so everyone decided to just have one for the heck of it. The theme this time was, "Breakfast for Dinner". Deb made an egg and chorizo scramble with refried beans. Other dishes included sausage links, lox and bagels, trifle, egg with sausage casserole, prosciutto, and salami.

We celebrated our second Easter at home again. It wasn't too different from last time. We had ham, mashed potatoes, and roasted broccoli for dinner. Before that, however, the kids had an Easter Basket Hunt. Mom hid their baskets all around the house. They had to find them first to see what they scored.

Back in October we took advantage of Free Dump Day by helping Grandpa and Grandma get rid of stuff in their garage. Now that we're in April we can take advantage of Free Dump Day again. On Saturday, April 10th and Saturday, April 17th we drove up to San Francisco, ate lunch, and hauled away a bunch of stuff that was sitting under their house. We filled the Pilot to capacity both times and really freed up a lot of space. When we got to the dump the first weekend, the line to get in was really long. However, the second weekend was super fast. We practically drove right in.

Exactly 3 weeks after receiving our first dose of Pfizer we were back at Levi's Stadium to get our second. Following our vaccination we took a little time to look around a bit and take some pictures.

Tyler and Chloe got their first doses of Pfizer on the same day 3 weeks ago. Since they both had to get their second shots on the same day they went together.

On Mother's Day 2021 the kids vowed to make French Toast for Deb in the morning. This is a huge deal because they almost always sleep in on the weekends. Needless to say, the kids made good on their promise and they all woke up early to make Mother's Day special for Debbie.

On Monday, May 10, 2021 the FDA approved vaccinating 12-15 year olds for COVID-19. Once that announcement was made official, Connor was able to schedule his first dose of Pfizer for Thursday, May 13th. We arrived at Levi's Stadium after 5pm, but the traffic getting into the parking lot was long and slow moving. By the time we parked the car, it was just after 6pm. Once inside the stadium we became aware of the reason why the line to get in was so long. It was due to the opening of vaccinations for all without having to make an appointment. Since we had an appointment, we were able to get in a shorter line to check in. The non-appointment line was much longer. After checking in we probably had to wait longer than when Deb and Ran went to get their shots, but it wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, Connor wasn't able to get any of the 49ers swag that had been advertised for teenagers getting their vaccine at Levi's, but he was still able to score a 49ers towel and take some pictures.

After nearly 15 months of sheltering-in-place, we finally got to a place where we thought it would be nice to get together with the Dugan and Hamasaki families to have dinner. Pat and Luann generously opened up their home where we were able to see their nearly completed bathroom renovations and hang out to relax and talk face to face. The meal was so ono and included pupus, pulled pork as the main dish, and cherry cobbler for dessert.

Nearly a year and a half after the pandemic began Marukai continues to have long lines to check out. At least now their shelves are stocked and they have meat again.

Every year we visit L.A. for Thanksgiving to spend with the Higa side. There are things we always do when we go down. For instance, Deb goes shopping with Aunty Lara and Aunty Kathy, we get take out from Tommy's, Ran and the kids go to Frank and Sons, and we always go to the eye doctor. Since we didn't make it down last year and we didn't make our annual optometry check-up, everyone was ready to have their eyes looked at to make sure everything is OK.

This year we planned to resume some of our normal holiday activities and get-togethers. Unfortunately, the Omicron variant took root and spread like wildfire just before the Christmas holiday. In three separate instances, family members had potential contact with people who tested postive for COVID. First, Uncle Joel said two co-workers had tested positive, and despite his testing negative he decided it would be safer if he just stayed at home (Auntie Christine and Mason were in South Carolina). Next, Tyler found out someone he hung out with on Monday tested positive, but while Tyler tested negative we decided to stay home as well. Finally, as Dad notified everyone we were going to have to bail on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners Auntie Melissa informed us that cousin Collin might have come into contact with someone who tested positive at baseball camp. We really hoped we could see one another and catch up, but it just wasn't in the cards this year. Hopefully, next year we can get together and have dinner.

Since we weren't going up to Auntie Melissa's for Christmas Eve dinner like we planned, Mom had to pivot and figure out something for dinner. Luckily, earlier in the week pork loin was on sale and she had Dad buy one. That thing took forever to thaw. Also, Dad went up to Grandpa's and Grandma's in the afternoon to help set up a new TV and to meet Auntie Melissa to exchange gifts. Auntie Deanna had ordered some fried chicken for dinner and since she couldn't cancel it Melissa brought that as well. Grandma bought ingredients for naw-mai-fahn (sticky rice) so she went ahead and made that to give to everyone along with her famous clam dip. For dessert we had a grapefruit pie given to us by the Inouye's. Even though Mom had to figure out dinner at the last minute it turned out wonderfully.

Christmas Day started out normally. We woke up (albeit later because the kids are all older and sleep in now) and opened gifts. We had planned to meet up at Grandpa's and Grandma's for dinner, but since we had to cancel the kids got together and made sugar cookies instead. Mom bought a ham from Costco earlier in the week so she prepared that along with twiced baked potatoes, zuchinni, and more fried chicken for dinner. We can't believe how full we were after dinner. The potatoes alone were a meal.

Just like last year we stayed home both New Years Eve and New Years Day. About two weeks ago prime rib went on sale so Dad bought one and Mom prepared it for New Years Eve dinner. It was so ono. The sides included mashed potatoes (of course) and string beans. In the evening everyone stayed up late to celebrate the new year with Martinelli's Apple Cider.

The next morning Deb and Ran got up early to buy sushi and chicken karage at Nijiya. When they got home they woke up the kids, and they helped with the prep work and made spam musubi, edamame, and gyoza. Deb made ozoni, Taiwanese fried pop corn chicken, and fried saimin. We also had home made appetizers from the Tsukahara's. By the time everything was done it was lunch time, so we all sat down and ate until we couldn't move anymore.

The Omicron variant started to ebb as the COVID pandemic neared the 2-year mark. However, Omicron was so wide-spread its effects were felt in all aspects of life. Businesses were most affected when workers who tested positive had to quarantine. Just like two years ago when the pandemic began Marukai had staffing issues which resulted in empty shelves and a shortage of meat.

As the number of COVID Omicron variant cases continued to decline, the Super Bowl went on as scheduled. Regardless of the current COVID climate we decided to watch the game from the safety of our home and forgo the usual watch party. So, just like last year we did a potluck with the Hamasaki's, Shinkawa's, and Tsukahara's where we all shared delicious "football food". The menu included 7 Layer Dip, Spinach Dip, Chicken Tenders, Spam Musubi, Ribs, Chili, Fried Won Ton, Guava Chiffon Cake (from King's Hawaiian Bakery in Torrance), Tiramisu, and Trifle!

We celebrated another Shelter-In-Place Mother's Day. We probably could have gone out as people appear to be less concerned with spreading COVID compared to two years ago, but we decided to play it safe and stay at home. Jordyn and Connor woke up early and prepared french toast with King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread. It was delicious as usual. The kids also gave Mom a very appropriate card.

Since COVID began, the MVBT hasn't done the traditional Chicken Teriyaki Fundraiser. Normal Chicken Teriyaki would be a massive affair with many people pitching in to make the teriyaki sauce, marinate hundreds of pounds of chicken, wash and cook rice, make tsukemono, slice oranges, and cook the chicken. Since gathering was out of the question, the past two years have simply been ordering chicken from Starbird or Panda Express and receiving a percentage of sales. This year, as we finally appear to be turning the corner, the temple decided to hold an in-person Chicken Teriyaki Dinner. Instead of the traditional fundraiser, this would only be for membership and affiliated organizations of the temple. This scaled down event would be limited to 500 total meals and people would have the option to pick up or dine in (limited to 100 people). As luck would have it our zone (Zone 8 - MVBT's Mightiest Zone) was in charge of chicken teriyaki this year so Uncle Craig headed the committee to plan and execute the event. We received wonderful comments from so many who enjoyed eating fresh chicken teriyaki hot off the grill.

Denise, Craig, Miya, and Mari visited the mainland to attend a wedding in Sonoma. Since they were in the area they also did a college tour of Santa Clara University so Mari could get an idea what campus was like. While they were only in the area for a week we were able to get together for dinner with the Loo's. We found a place in downtown Sunnyvale on Murphy Ave. called Metro City. They serve mostly breakfast and lunch items all day long, but everyone found a dish they enjoyed. The atmosphere was really nice too. Since the onset of COVID, this one block of Murphy Ave. has been closed to all traffic. The restaurants expanded their seating areas outside and now provide a very festive open-air dining experience. After dinner we all came back to our house to have a Cold Stone ice cream cake. It was so nice to get together with old friends and catch up with everyone. We really need to do this more often.

Father's Day this year was a beautiful day. Temperatures were pleasant with just a touch of a breeze. The day started when everyone woke up early. Mom ran out and bought a small ham for breakfast. Everyone else woke up to help prepare Father's Day breakfast. Connor baked blueberry muffins, Tyler scrambled the eggs, and Jordyn helped Mom with everything else. Later in the afternoon, we Facetimed Grandpa and Grandma along with Uncle Joel, Auntie Christine, and Mason to wish the dads, Happy Father's Day. For dinner we went to Metro City in downtown Sunnyvale, and afterward we returned home so Dad could open his gifts. The big gift was a new Sumo Fish Rainbow Drive-In t-shirt that he wanted!

Deb's birthday fell on a Wednesday this year. Normally, there wouldn't be much going on, but for some reason there were a lot of online meetings this day. Both Deb and Ran attended a meeting in the afternoon and later that evening Ran had a meeting at 7:30pm. Dinner wasn't really special at all unfortunately. The next day we were headed to Los Angeles to help Tyler move into his new apartment. We didn't want all this food sitting in the refrigerator while we were gone so poor Deb had to eat leftovers for her birthday. However, later that evening we feasted on a special guava cake that good friend Pauline dropped off.

During this unprecedented event in history we have found our time together as being mostly fun and worthwhile. Jordyn would normally be in school down in L.A.. Tyler would most likely be holed up in his room doing homework, talking to Chloe, or watching YouTube videos. Connor would probably either be playing on his Nintendo Switch or playing X-Box. Deb would be hard at work in her office. They still do all those things, but just at home now. There's time to do a lot more family stuff because we're all home all together all the time.

Tap't

Since Pat, Craig, and Ran started the Socially Distant Beer Tasting they made it a ritual to buy all their beer from Tap't Beer and Kitchen in downtown Sunnyvale. There was always an array of different beer from small local breweries. They found the selection, at times, to be overwhelming but they really enjoyed the process of looking at all the different brands and beer types. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and the escalating costs of doing business Tap't just couldn't recover from the slow down brought on by COVID-19. They really miss going to Tap't. Socially Distant Beer Tasting isn't going to be the same.

Booster shots for the COVID vaccines became available for all adults on November 11, 2021. As luck would have it, Homestead High School, through the Fremont Union High School District, had already scheduled a free vaccination clinic for all Homestead students and community members on Saturday, November 13th. Not only could everyone get a COVID vaccine shot, but those who were already vaccinated could get their booster shot as well. Pediatric vaccinations were also available for kids aged 5-11. Due to the timing of the announcement, Homestead's vaccine clinic was overwhelmed with people looking to get their booster shots and the line extended through the student parking lot and out onto the sidewalk. We got there about 15 minutes before they were supposed to open and immediately got in line. Based on where we were in line the line monitors told us we were about 2 to 3 hours out before we would get our shots. They said they have the vaccines, but they only had a handful of people to administer the shots. Fortunately, they offered us an option to get a wristband and return in 2 hours when they would take us then. We ended up doing the wristband option and came back later.

Even though we were headed to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, Tyler came home since he had the entire week of Thanksgiving off. This would allow him to see Chloe and some other friends before we headed back down. While he was here Deb scheduled him for his flu shot and his COVID booster shot. Getting the flu shot was pretty easy as it was administered where he goes for his doctor's appointments near our house. The COVID booster, however, was all the way down on Senter St. at the San Jose Costco. That would take a little while and some planning. In the end, he received both shots and, other than sore arms, didn't have any adverse reactions.

The Omicron variant of COVID has spread like no other. While it appears not to be as virulent, it can still be dangerous for those who are immunocompromised. Since Connor is the only one in the family who attends school in person, he is the one who is most likely to come into contact with someone who tests positive for COVID. Of course, since he returned to school after the holiday break there have been over 150 reported cases of COVID at Homestead. Feeling somewhat anxious, Connor asked to see if we could schedule a PCR test for him. Unfortunately, testing sites have been overwhelmed by people wanting to test so getting an appointment has been difficult. Luckily, Dad found a testing site not too far from home that was taking walk-ins for drive-thru PCR tests. So, on Monday morning, before school, Dad and Connor drove to Santa Clara off of Central Expressway and both had PCR tests performed. About a day and a half later both received negative test results.

Tyler's first Spring Break as a college student didn't go exactly as planned. His idea was to stay in Fullerton with his friends and just hang out all week long. Unfortunately, the dining halls for all the dorms were closed, so, instead, he flew home and spent his break with family. Most of the time he stayed up until the wee hours of the morning and didn't wake up until some time in the late afternoon. By the end of the week he was waking up for lunch at least. In the evening hours we did have a little family time. One evening we decided to play Texas Hold 'Em. No one remembers who won, but we all had a lot of laughs.

As more and more people vaccinate and receive boosters we have started to gather with friends again. One really nice new activity we began was Game Night. Together with the Dugan's and Hamasaki's we meet once a month to share a meal and play a classic board game. So far, we've played Monopoly, Life, and Clue. Of course when we get together there always has to be some kind of beer selection.

Side Effects

With shelter in place and the closure of non-essential businesses comes some unintended side effects. For instance, while grocery stores were seemingly always out of toilet paper and canned goods, we found tofu and microwave popcorn were also hard to find. Since everyone was home now and couldn't go out, completing chores became a little more difficult too. For instance, why is it after washing towels I'm always prevented from hanging them in the bathroom because there's always someone in there? Finally, hair salons were closed because the state deemed them non-essential.